The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, recalled this Thursday, during the commemoration of the 115 years of the Mexican Revolution, the historical importance of the armed insurrection that began in 1910, led by Francisco I. Madero, and culminated with the overthrow of the Porfirist dictatorship in 1917. In her speech, the President took the opportunity to highlight those who publicly criticized her government and lashed out against the “elites” and “privileged” who want, he assures, a national project very similar to that of Porfirio Díaz. “Those who today claim power, force above the law, those who claim the extreme right or that freedom enjoyed only by the privileged, do not know the history of Mexico and our people,” she said in the city’s Zócalo, accompanied by her cabinet.
During his speech, Sheinbaum recalled in chronological order the events that gave rise to the social revolt, which between 1913 and 1917 caused the death of almost a million Mexicans, who in addition to the war had to face extreme poverty and the devastating typhoid epidemic. The president, for example, referring to the criticism received from the opposition regarding security, attacked speeches that, according to her, incite polarization and violence.
“Peace and tranquility are the fruit of justice. Therefore, speeches that normalize violence as a path, that glorify imposition or that seek to restore a country of privileges for the few, have no resonance. Those who call for violence are wrong. Those who encourage hatred are wrong. Those who believe that force replaces justice are wrong. Those who call for foreign intervention are wrong”, he said forcefully in front of the audience gathered in the country’s main square.
Furthermore, the president underlined the causes that led to the armed clashes and the international intervention which ended, years after the start of the revolt, with the national project dreamed of by Madero. “During the Tragic Decade, enemies of the Government, including Victoriano Huerta and Félix Díaz, conspired to destroy the democratic project represented by Madero. This conspiracy was joined by the United States ambassador, Henry Lane Wilson, who openly intervened in support of the coup plotters and approved the pacts that sealed the fall of the legitimate government. This foreign interference, added to internal betrayal, culminated in the assassination of Madero and Pino Suárez, a crime that opened one of the most painful and violent chapters in the history of Mexico,” he recalled.
Preceded by a speech by General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, head of the Ministry of Defense (Sedena), who praised the participation of women in the country’s military forces, Sheinbaum praised the Morena governments, and recalled that the victory of the party, founded by his predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is the so-called Fourth Transformation of the country, after Independence (1821), the Reformation (1855-1863) and the Revolution (1910-1917).
The president’s speech, full of allusions to the past that she linked to what has been happening for several years in the social and political life of Mexico, arrives at a critical moment for the country. With protests in the streets across the territory by transporters, students, farmers, and with an unprecedented boost in appeals from right-wing groups.
Furthermore, it takes place in a context in which a part of public opinion and society has openly expressed its discontent with the violence that seems to get worse every day in the country. The murder of the mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, Carlos Manzo, or the number of missing people in the national territory, are just some of the issues that have sparked criticism of the security strategy led by the president.
Shenibaum defended his government and showed the majority support that his party and his figure currently have: “They slander us because they know our honesty, they know that we will not submit to the interests of those who previously held power or enjoyed privileges, nor to any foreign government or interest. They know that we will not be decorative figures, or simple tools of those who were used to stealing and concentrating the country’s economic and political power.”
